A. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for automating the process of casting articles. It appears to be especially well suited for use in automating the removal of a plurality of castings in the form of plumbing fixtures.
B. Description Of The Art
It is known in the art to utilize a manually drivable "stripper" ring to assist in separating a molded part from a mold member. This is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,908. The art has also provided an inflatable hose as a driving means to drive a stripper ring for releasing molded parts (U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,007). However, further improvement is desired in automating the casting process, especially with respect to plumbing fixtures and the like where extremely fragile castings must be removed from the mold.
In this regard, manually drivable stripper rings are time consuming to use, and may damage the contact surface of the molded product. They do not provide sufficient control over the amount of pressure the fragile casting edges are exposed to. Existing systems are also deficient in the areas of automating the process of separating the mold halves. If not properly done, the fragile molded part can, on occasion, be damaged during this process (aside from the excessive time required to undo multiple manual clamps and to manually separate mold halves.
Other existing systems require the use of extra costly components such as stripper rings and inflatable hoses. Thus, an improved molding apparatus and method are needed.